Cigna sues Bristol Myers for alleged monopoly over blockbuster cancer drug
In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Cigna said Bristol Myers' Celgene unit filed sham lawsuits to protect its patents for Pomalyst, whose chemical name is pomalidomide, and paid off several generic drugmakers to end legal challenges.
The insurer also said Celgene did nottell the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that a Boston doctor had obtained a patent for pomalidomide to treat multiple myeloma, and defrauded that office by claiming "unexpected" positive results in testing.
By having "willfully maintained monopoly power" over brand name and generic Pomalyst, Bristol Myers caused purchasers such as Cigna to overpay by "many hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars," the complaint said.
Bristol Myers, based in Princeton, New Jersey, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cigna, based in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is seeking unspecified triple damages.
It sued nearly three months after a Manhattan federal judge dismissed a proposed class action led by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana raising similar claims.
In that case, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said the plaintiffs failed to show Celgene committed fraud in procuring patents for Pomalyst, or that Celgene filed baseless lawsuits against generic drugmakers that led to fraudulent settlements.
Bristol Myers' U.S. sales of the drug, which is also sold under the name Imnovid, totaled $2.7 billion last year and $537 million in the first three months of 2025.
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that affects plasma cells in bone marrow.
There is no known cure, and the five-year survival rate was 62.4% between 2015 and 2021, according to the National Cancer Institute.
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Cigna beats investor expectations on Evernorth growth
This story was originally published on Healthcare Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Healthcare Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Cigna beat investor expectations on earnings and revenue in the second quarter as the insurer reported strong growth in its Evernorth health services arm. The company reported revenue of $57.8 billion for Evernorth in the second quarter, up 17% year over year. Adjusted income from operations in the unit was $1.7 billion, increasing 5% from last year, according to Cigna's second-quarter earnings released Thursday. Meanwhile, Cigna's health insurance segment is performing within expectations, even as the insurer has seen 'persistently elevated medical costs throughout the year,' COO Brian Evanko said during an earnings call Thursday. Dive Insight: Many insurers have struggled with heightened medical costs in the second quarter, particularly those offering health plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges as well as in Medicare and Medicaid. But Cigna is likely more insulated from these challenges, given the company's focus on employer-sponsored health plans. The insurer also closed the sale of its Medicare business to Health Care Service Corporation this spring. 'We have intentionally positioned our Cigna Healthcare portfolio with a product mix that has proven favorable in the current environment, as we have no exposure to Medicaid or Medicare,' Evanko said on the call Thursday morning. Cigna's healthcare insurance unit reported $10.8 billion in adjusted revenue, down 18% year over year, largely due to divesting the Medicare business. Adjusted income from operations was $1.1 billion, decreasing 9% from the previous year linked to a higher medical loss ratio — a key marker of spending on patient care. Cigna's MLR was $83.2% in the second quarter, up from $82.3% in 2024 as the company grappled with higher costs in stop-loss insurance. The health insurance unit also faced heightened utilization in individual plans as medical costs increased across the ACA marketplace, CFO Ann Dennison said. 'However, this pressure was manageable due to the smaller relative size of our ACA book, aided by our disciplined pricing actions over the past two years,' she said. On the Evernorth side of the business, adjusted income for pharmacy benefit services was up 2% to $833 million. Adjusted revenue for pharmacy benefit services was up 20%. The positive results for Cigna's pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts — one of the nation's largest PBMs — comes as the pharmacy middlemen have faced increased scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers for driving up drug costs. Arkansas recently passed a law that would force PBMs to divest pharmacies, but it was put on hold by a federal judge earlier this week. CEO David Cordani said the company is 'quite pleased' with the decision, arguing that while the law is potentially well-intended, it constrains access to care and restrains patient choice. But 'we believe that the industry will continue to operate in an active legislative and regulatory environment' when it comes to PBMs, he said. Overall, Cigna reported revenue of $67.2 billion, increasing 11% from $60.5 billion during the same period last year. Net income was $1.5 billion, relatively flat year over year. The company reaffirmed its outlook on adjusted income from operations of at least $29.60 per share. Recommended Reading Cigna doubles down on GLP-1 support programs with 2 new launches
CNBC
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We're lowering our price target on Bristol Myers as two key overhangs persist
Bristol Myers Squibb shares dropped Thursday despite a solid quarterly beat and guidance raise, as Wall Street's confidence wavers in the growth trajectory for schizophrenia treatment Cobenfy. Revenue in the second quarter, ended June 30, ticked up 1% to $12.3 billion, topping estimates of $11.4 billion, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.46 outpaced expectations of $1.07 but were down 29% versus the year-ago period. Bottom line While the results were strong overall, and management did raise their outlook for the full year, Bristol Myers shares nonetheless dropped 4% following the release. Most likely, it was a reflection of investors' unwillingness to get too excited about the reported numbers and the road ahead until we get a better sense of the size of the opportunity presented by Cobenfy. The big event is late-stage trial data from a study examining the drug's potential benefit to Alzheimer's psychosis patients, expected to be released later this year. The Cobenfy opportunity came under increased scrutiny earlier this year following a failed phase 3 trial relating to the efficacy of the drug in schizophrenia patients as an add-on treatment. The Cobenfy narrative — at the core of our investment thesis in Bristol Myers — went from being pretty straightforward to a show-me story. On the post-earnings call, management tried to reassure investors about Cobenfy. CFO David Elkins said, "The launch of Cobenfy is tracking, as we expected. Weekly total prescriptions continued to grow, and we expect continued steady growth with sales in the second half of the year higher than the first half." The drug became part of Bristol Myers' offerings after the drugmaker completed its $14 billion acquisition of Karuna Therapeutics in March 2024. While the solid execution seen in Bristol Myers' second quarter gives us reason enough to stick with the stock, for now, we understand the concern regarding the upcoming Cobenfy trial data. We see no reason to add to our position at this time, despite shares trading at less than 7 times the midpoint of the updated full-year EPS guidance and a nearly 6% dividend yield. That yield does pay for our patience, but we can't throw good money after bad. So, as good as the quarter was, the reaction indicates that the stock is most likely a value trap until that trial data is released. We are, therefore, reiterating our hold-equivalent 2 rating and cutting our price target to $55 per share from $60, reflecting the wait-and-see nature of Cobenfy and the sector-wide overhang related to the Trump administration's pharmaceutical policy proposals, including tariffs. Indeed, on Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump said he asked drugmakers to take a series of actions "within the next 60 days," including extending "most favored nation" pricing to Medicaid. Commentary As we can see in the chart above, the strong headline results can be attributed to broad-based strength throughout Bristol Myers' portfolio. On the call, CEO Christopher Boerner commented that "Cobenfy has delivered strong performance since launch, and we have consistently received positive feedback from physicians. They are seeing firsthand the medicine's differentiated profile with robust efficacy on both positive and negative symptoms and improved cognition." Growth portfolio sales were driven by very strong performance from Breyanzi, Reblozyl and Camzyos. With the patent cliffs hanging over Bristol Myers' legacy portfolio, the market is primarily focused on the performance its basket of newer drugs. Guidance Bristol Myers again positively revised its 2025 full-year guidance: Sales: Now targeting a range of roughly $46.5 billion to $47.5 billion, up from the prior range of $45.8 billion to $46.8 billion, and ahead of the $46.25 billion the Street was expecting, according to LSEG. Driving the $700 million upward revision is strength in the growth portfolio beyond what management was previously expecting, and a smaller-than-previously anticipated decline in the legacy portfolio. Helping the legacy portfolio, worldwide sales of Revlimid are now expected to come in at about $3 billion; Prior guidance called for sales to be at the high end of a $2 billion to $2.5 billion range. However, these positives are slightly offset by a smaller-than-previously expected benefit from foreign exchange dynamics. Those are now expected to benefit the top line by $200 million (versus $250 million previously). Gross margin: Reiterated at roughly 72%. Operating expense: Now expected to be about $16.5 billion, up slightly from the roughly $16.2 billion previously forecast. The increase is attributable to a roughly $300 million increase in business development and growth portfolio investments. Earnings per share: Now targeting a range of $6.35 to $6.65 per share. While that is down from the $6.70 to $7.00 range previously provided, it's important to note that Bristol Myers is now factoring in 57-cent per share headwind relating to in-process research-and-development (IPRD) charges associated with the BioNTech partnership announced during the quarter. Excluding this impact, it appears that earnings guidance would have been revised 22-cents higher, given it was cut by only 35-cents at the midpoint despite the headwind being a 57-cent negative impact. Regardless, this new range is still ahead of $6.24 per share the Street was looking for, according to LSEG. 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